So…I’ve had writer’s block for four and a half months. A few things happened, mainly my bipolar disorder and work stress resulted in a breakdown of sorts. It took a couple months to have the breakdown, and then a couple months to recover. I’m feeling pretty a-okay these days, but when it comes to writing, I have zero ideas. Zilch. Nada. So, I figured I’d just write about what I’m reading and watching, and then figure it out from there.

Below are short reviews for the Dream Daddy (the comic version, not the game), My Friend Dahmer, Maid, No Visible Bruises, The Weekly, The Thing, and Sorry to Bother You.

Dream Daddy – The writers of Dream Daddy wrote a comic series. It’s not ground-breaking but it’s a very solid okay. If you like the game, you’ll like this. If you haven’t played the game, you won’t understand what’s going on. I really liked the first story, but everything else was inoffensively okay. I probably won’t remember I read it in a month.

My Friend Dahmer: A Graphic Novel – This is a story about the teenagehood of serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer. It was a strangely humanizing story of a man who did horrible, horrible things. I especially enjoyed the notes at the end which provided background to the events in the story. I think without those, I wouldn’t have enjoyed it nearly much as I don’t know much about Dahmer. Apparently, there’s a movie in the works based on this graphic novel.

Maid – This was the pick of the month for a book club I wanted to check out. Maid is Stephanie Land’s story of being a single mother struggling to raise her daughter while cleaning houses. It’s one of those inspirational stories about pulling oneself up by the bootstraps and surviving hardships, which I kinda hate. At the same time, it also does a good job of illustrating how impossible it is to pull oneself out of poverty and how little the social programs in the United States help break the cycle.That’s not the only focus of the story, though. One of my favorite parts is Stephanie’s stories about the houses she cleans. She is able to characterize the people she works for by their houses, and the portraits are fascinating. There’s a wide variety ranging from a couple who lives two separate lives, to the man who, while demanding, treats her with respect and even buys her a pair of lobsters. It’s a pretty quick read, and I recommend it!

No Visible Bruises – This is a non-fiction book about domestic violence in America. It’s not an easy read, by any stretch, and I found myself taking frequent breaks while reading. However, it’s an important book, and one that really opened my eyes. Although we’ve made steps in the right direction, we’ve also taken steps back in the wrong direction. I finished the book with as few answers as I began with on how to address domestic violence in society. I do think think the understanding of why and how it happens may be the first step to addressing the problem. With a comprehensive overview of the programs in the country, from those that help women escape abusive men to those that help men stop abusing women, it’s one of the best books looking at the issue.

The Weekly – I rarely watch Hulu, as I’m usually on the go, but I had some time this week to check something out. I found The Weekly. This is a half hour series focusing on the stories behind a select few The New York Times headlines. So far, there’s only two episodes. One of them looks at school in Louisiana for doctoring transcripts and physical abuse. It’s worth watching just for the batshit insane principal. The other one is story looking at taxi medallions in New York City which reveals a hugely corrupt system. Apparently it’s only got a 42% on Rotten Tomatoes, but I love investigative journalism, and I love this show. I just wish each episode was longer, or that there more episodes, as I’d definitely binge them.

The Thing– I finally got around to watching this classic movie. For anyone who doesn’t know, The Thing is a 1982 movie about shape shifting aliens infiltrating a scientific base in Antarctica. Paranoia ensues. The special effects are amazing, and probably the best part of an already amazing film. To anyone who wants to make or critique movies in any professional capacity, this is pretty much a must watch.

Sorry To Bother You – A 2018 satire movie aimed at capitalism, and definitely one that, if you’re going to watch, watch it blind or don’t watch at all. I’m of two minds. On one hand this movie is very original and I’ve never seen anything like it before. On the other hand, I’m not sure I really liked it. I’m not that big of a fan of satire. Most of it goes over my head. Sure it was okay, and it definitely was weird in a way I liked…it just didn’t really click for whatever reason.

Anyway, this is pretty much everything I’ve consumed in the past couple weeks! Hopefully I can get over this writer’s block and back to writing. This is a start, so finger’s crossed. Thank you for reading, and until next time!